Tootie Pie Co. reports $1 million revenue

Tootie Pie Co. reported record revenue of more than $1 million in the most recent quarter despite reporting a net loss.

Revenue for the period that ended Dec. 31 was up 17 percent from the same period in 2009. The company had a net loss of $38,139 compared with a profit of $29,771 the same period the year before. Tootie Pie attributed the loss to expenses required to operate three new Gourmet Café locations it opened late last year. Those expenses were up by 21 percent.

The Boerne-based company bakes and sells handmade pies at its Tootie Pie Gourmet Cafés, in stores and through the company directly. The company frequently has reported losses since it went public Jan. 7, 2007, and started trading on the over-the-counter bulletin board the following April.

“We are adding cafes at an average of about $100,000 per location, which is well below the national average for quick-serve restaurants of this size,” Tootie Pie Co. President and CEO Don Merrill said in a prepared statement. “We think this is an excellent investment that should produce both short-term and long-term benefits for the Tootie Pie Co.”